IN DEATH

There exists

An extended moment

Momentarily eternal

Eternally challenging

Perpetually illuminating

Yet passing

Embracing

Beyond the past

Into a future

Inevitably without you

And ultimately me: 

Incontrovertibly true

THE HEART OF SOUND

Here

In the heart of sound

I am loathe to speak

To express

Listen

Understand

Here in the heart of sound

Where the deception

And distraction

Mean nothing

More than noise

Nothing

More than cacophony

Just more noise

No understanding

Hear

The heart of sound

Unadorned and inviolate

Pure and un-maligned

As honest

As truth can ever be

Subjective

Not necessarily

Interested in

Objectivity

Here

Inside the heart

Of sound where

I fail

To express

I listen filtering

Faltering

Unable to hear

Ambient noise

Disturbing

Disturbed

And deluded

Distrusted

And depressed

Dissonant

Dissidence

Here in the heart of sound

Where silence is 
Alien and the familiar

Is strange

Hence

I am loathe to speak

To express

Any truth or honesty

I listen

HULLE SÊ...

hulle sê

ek is mal
hulle praat baie

ma' hulle
sê niks.

i am not

well adjusted

my faith

is not entrusted

to some social structure

designed to keep me

in my place.

i am not

apathetically idle,

only happy

to be sad

and powerless

a pawn, a victim

of happenchance

or circumstance.

hulle sê

ek is befok

but ek is

just

mal-adjusted

my belief

is vested in the many

truths i see.

expressed in our actions

or more likely

our inaction

content with discontent

turning a blind eye

convinced of the lie

enslaved

in our minds.

hulle bly sê

ek is nog altyd mal

ma’ hulle stemme is dof

net so

‘s hulle gedagtes

vol bedrog

ma’ tog bly
hulle sê niks.

NO NEED TO WONDER

I often wonder

What it is that you see

As you look out

Through the double-glazed veneer

Of your privileged arrogance

And the insolence of entitlement

That frames your perception.

I often wonder

Who it is that you see

When you look

At someone like me

Proud and comfortable

In my skin

Of earth-tones and darkness.

Do you ever wonder

About a mind and a soul

Or a whole being beyond

The limits of all

You think you know

And the places you go

To get away from what surrounds you.

Do you ever wonder

About your complicity

In maintaining this status quo

And the inherent violence

That sustains this inequality

And the ingrained injustice

That you so conveniently ignore.

I sometimes wonder

About what it all means

Whether the purchased education

And material success

Has any substance

If it serves only to enhance the distance

Between your view and what is true.

But mostly there is

No need to wonder

The cause and effects

Blatantly apparent

The callousness abhorrent

The outlook remains myopic

This democracy is despotic.

RAPT - Rural Art Project Trust

I. LOVE. YOU.

A Process of Creative Intervention for Youth

Background

In the late 1990s I tested a series of creative writing workshops based on the words I LOVE YOU.  I worked with awaiting-trial juveniles and youth at risk in various institutions and communities throughout the Western Cape.

My premise is that if young people are afforded the opportunity to develop a better understanding of these three words, they will in turn develop a better understanding and respect for themselves, their peers and the communities in which they live.

Through the process of reflection and expression (facilitated by myself and a number of other creatives), young people gain the confidence and insights that enable them to make decisions that impact positively in their own lives as well as in their communities.

Motivation

The arts provide an invaluable and vital tool for working with children.  Various forms of artistic expression develop creative and alternate thinking skills that are required to interpret the contemporary world and more fully participate in it.

Young people in the 21^st century are faced with a host of social issues caused by a disparate global economy, environmental degradation, limited access to opportunities and a political system that serves corporate interests and lacks the determination to address inequality and socio-economic disparities that continue to define the stunted aspirations of most of South Africa’s children.

In communities throughout the country, youth are for the most part not involved in civic structures or youth movements and are not actively engaging in the many, complex social issues that affect communities and our society.  Artistic endeavours engage an apathetic youth in ways that allow active participation in processes that subtly teach compassion, co-operation and problem-solving.  Further it has been demonstrated that young people improve their verbal, visual and written communication skills through art.

Proposal

This proposal outlines an initial 3-year, self-funded pilot project that will be implemented with groups of learners who are currently in grade 5 at the primary schools in the larger St. Helena Bay area. Each of these groups of learners will participate in the project over the full three year pilot phase.

The project will use the arts to engage with and inspire participants while affording them an opportunity to gain self confidence and to develop a more constructive cooperative identity through a process of individual and collective creative expression. 

The project will initially be implemented once every week at each of the schools from the beginning of the second school term in April, 2014. The weekly workshop session will take place at the end of the school day and will run for between 60 and 90 minutes in a classroom or similar space at each of the participating schools.

Consultation and communication will be maintained with the Principals and Grade 5 teachers and – in as far as possible – with parents.  These interactions will ensure that all caregivers are informed of the processes and that a suitably conducive and supportive environment is fostered and maintained for the participating learners.

Guest facilitators may also be invited to conduct specific creative workshops as resources and time allow.

2014 Project Outline

The workshops will begin at the start of the 2^nd term in April. For this first phase until the end of June, the participants will engage with a series of exercises aimed at developing a more meaningful insight into the complexities of individual identity. These exercises will make use of visual art and writing with a view to launching a project blog on June the 16^th.

The second phase will take place during the 3^rd school term between July and October. The focus will shift from developing an understanding of individual identity to include how tradition, history and culture further influence our personal development.  We will unpack how our understanding of these constructs can have a positive impact on our lives. This phase of the project will result in compositions and poems that deal with Heritage. The best of these stories and poems will be published on the project blog on Heritage Day with possible presentations at the schools.

The final phase of the first year of the project will commence at the start of the 4^th school term in October. The focus of this last phase will be geared towards producing a newsletter publication of the participants’ writing, drawings, paintings and photographs. This newsletter will be comprised of separate segments compiled with the different school’s learners and will be launched on December 10^th which is International Human Rights Day.

2015 & 2016

For the second and third years of the pilot phase, the annual process will commence at the start of the first school term. A similar process will be followed with the specific view of developing material that will fit into the overall annual outcome as specified below.

 3-year Pilot Project Outcomes

The project will have one primary annual outcome at each of the schools:

·         2014 – A newsletter containing artwork, photographs and text developed with the learners

·         2015 – A play written and performed by the learners.

·         2016 – A film written, starring and produced by the learners.

Partners

There are various individuals and creative practitioners who have expressed a keen interest in getting involved in this initiative either through direct support or through providing resources within their respective institutions. I will endeavour to gain the support of local NGO’s, CBO’s, individuals and businesses that see the value of this type of creative intervention.

Conclusion

I believe that young people are capable of achieving great things and I am committed to their personal and social development.  It is thus my sincerest hope that the Principals, teachers, parents and learners will be receptive to the implementation of this initiative at their respective schools.

I. LOVE. YOU. - A Process of Creative Intervention for Youth

"...The premise is that if young people are afforded the opportunity to develop a better understanding of these three words, they would in turn develop a better understanding and respect for themselves, their peers and the communities in which they live.

Through this process of reflection and expression, young people gain the confidence and insights that enable them to make decisions that impact positively in their own lives as well as in their communities."

HOCUS-POCUS

The tooth fairy and the Easter bunny

Sat drinking one night in a bar

When Santa Claus walked in with a swagger

Already drunk and disorderly and itching for a fight

After Snow White had given him shit again

Because she felt guilty that she had been with Mowgli

And Casper the barman had to raise his voice

To calm things down as Jesus walked in with Goldilocks on his arm.

Outside the dwarves were on their knees

And the giants with their swords held high

Were mowing them down left and right

While the sun and the moon were having high tea

And the king was fucking the queen’s daughter

Behind the farmer’s barn while the cows looked on disapprovingly

Asking each other what had become of the world

When even the raindrops were falling skyward.

When I grow up in a million years

I’d want to be an ophthalmologist at night

And during the day I am going to be a conjuror

I’ll charge all the near-sighted followers exorbitant sums

To open their eyes so that they can see

That all the hocus-pocus that they claim to believe

Is what keeps us blind and dumb like the animals on a farm
Each in its own pen in seeming harmony.

City Bowl Blues

The sharp edges are brushed by polluted shades

As the day expires flirting graciously with the dusk

The angry hard drive buzz is reduced to a calmer hum

The island, the ships, the further shore.

A neighbour lingering at his door

Chatting to some girls with his boy in his arms

But mommy’s not happy and comes out to get her son

Sometimes sitting here on the balcony can be such fun.

Evening descends with a touch more fuss

A teenager gets scolded for missing the bus

The professional makes way for tired and casual

The smog and sun’s afterglow creates something special.

Birdsong drifts fragile as the cacophony subsides

To be shattered by a roar as a traffic light changes

Moving in unison despite their strangeness

And the general mindlessness besides.

Hues of grey and crimson mingle with a far truer blue

As the moon and sun share the blossoming sky

Carrying the smell of a thousand suppers

At home and with friends or simply alone.

Night heralds its arrival with a base beat thumping deep below

The city is transformed beneath its neon halo

The island, the ships, the far shore, the twinkle and flash

Indistinct shapes roam dark shadows in search of cash.

The ocean spills up into the infinitely black firmament

Yet more pointless loss and destruction are imminent

When the passion lies denied, festering, waiting to die

And the look in your eyes fails to hide your lies while the city cries.

Agterbaai patat...

Another magical sunrise at the 'Back-Bay'

The Khoi Gxam Poet

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